Slitting machine



w E. URSCHEL -r AL 2,186,084

' SLITTING MACHINE =iled. April 29, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet l BY Wm ATTORNEY J 1940- w. E. URSCHEL ET AL 2,186,084

SLITTING MACHINE Filed April 29, 1938 4 SheetS Sheet 2 1 42 ATTORNEY {2&5 22M ig/a Jan. 9, 1940.-

W. E. URSCHEL ET AL SL ITTING MACHINE Filed April 29, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS flz/a 2 Z [[230 .4

BY Jae/E. zlfzsciez ATTORNEY Jan. 9, 1940.

Willim W. E. URSCHEL -El' AL SLI'ITING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet .Filed Aprii 29, 1958 WWW ' ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 9, 1940 ;SLITTING William E. Urschel and Joe It. .U rsche l Valparaiso, Ind.

Application April 29, 1938, Serial No. 204,957

Claims.

Thisinvention relates to slitting machines and has to do particularly with amachine for slitting green bean pods or the like.

Heretofore difficulty has been encountered in 6 constructing a machine which will with regularity divide green bean pods into strips coextensive in length with such pods. Ordinarily the pods are curved and, as a consequence, the slitting instrumentalities of earlier apparatus have been un- 10 adapted to uniformly traverse the pods throughout their entire length. This mode of treatment has resulted in-a product consisting mostly of strips cut diagonally of the pods, such strips usuallvbeing short and of varying cross-sectional area because of one or more long-pointed tapered ends. These diagonal cuts when made near the ends of pods efiect extra shortpieces or strips not at all conforming to the desired shape. Prior machines have, therefore, resulted in'a product in which the constituent particles difier in various degrees from the shape preferred.

The primary object of the present invention is the provision of an improved slitting machine which is adapted to cut from longitudinal severable articles as green bean pods strips extending throughout their entire length, irrespective of whether the articles are straight or curved.

Another object is the provision of a new rotatable hopper for feeding articles to a slitting mechanism rotatable therewith.

Another object is the provision of a novel combination of hop-per and slitting mechanism which maintain articles in a selected position with respect to said slitting mechanism while an operation is performed on such articles.

Still another object is the provision ofa rotatable hopper having a plurality of oulets through which articles therein are successively presented, and slitting instrumentalities respec- 40 tively associated with each of the outlets.

A. further object ofthis invention is'the provision of an improved-slitting mechanism having first .a receptive movement and then an ejective movement thus enabling the mechanism toclear itself of articles improperly fed thereto or otherwise unsuited for treatment thereby.

Additional objects and advantages of the inention will become apparent upon reading the following description with reference to the accornpanying four sheets of drawings comprising a part of this specification, and wherein:

1 is a side elevation of the preferred embodiment of the invention with the hood removed and parts of the machine clarity;

broken away for I Fig. 2 isa sectional view directed rearwardly of the machine and taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a rearcelevational-viewof the machine;

Figs. 4 to 10 are views displaying the outer' 6" sidesof the side wall members fabricatable into the side walls of the rotatable hopper shown in Fig. 1; 1 v

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of a spiricular piece adapted to be co-assembled with members as 10 those shown in Figs. 4 to 10 into a rotatable hopper as that shown'in-Fig. 1 and having spaced spirally arranged ribs for-medby said piece;

Fig. "12 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating the manner in which longitudinal articles ,5 are Withdrawn from the hopper by the slitting apparatus;

Fig. 13 is-a partialsectional View showing the arrangement of disk knives and their cooperative grooved roller as employed in the slitting appara- 20 tus of the present machine;

Fig. 14 is an enlarged sectional view taken transversely through, a bean pod and axially through slitting instrumentalities operating thereon; i

Fig: 15 is a fragmentary side view ofva slitting mechanism feed roll and an associated adjustable feed plate on' the rotatable hopper; and

Fig; 16 is a fragmentary perspective view of an ejector member for removing the finished strips 30 from the knives of the slitting mechanism.

Reference characters where usedin the following description always. refer-to the same part whether shown in one or several figures of the drawings.

The machine is supported upon a frame' ineluding upright leg members 20, 2| and 22, Figs. 1 and 3. Upper end sections of legs 2% and M are joinedxby a side piece 23. Leg-22 and a leg (not shown) paired with leg 20 at the front end 40 of the machine are joinedzby a side piece 24, Fig.

3, corresponding to side piece 23. The upper ends of front leg 28 and the front leg (not shown) paired therewith are joined by an end piece 25.

At the back end of the machine the upper ends-of legsZl and 22 are connected by a cross piece 26.

A second cross piece 21 extends between legs 24 and 22 a shortdistance below cross piece 26, The frame is further strengthened by leg braces comprising tubular compression members 28 eXtending selectively between paired legs, tension members fill within the members 28, andnuts threaded upon the ends of said tension members to draw the legs firmly against the ends of tubularmembers zs'associated therewith.

I through the apertures upon an end of side wall member 51 The present embodiment of the invention is built about a rotatable hopper indicated generally at 36 in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. Said hopper 36 is triangular in transverse section and is rotatable about its principal axis which is placed in the horizontal. Figs. 4 through 11 show a plurality of interfabricatable parts which when assembled make up the hopper side walls.

That part of the hopper shown in Fig. 11 consists of a spiricular member 3| made of flat stock and having three straight sections as 32, 33, and 34 for each revolution. In the assembled device the straight sections as 32, 33, and 34 project inwardly from the inner periphery of the hopper and thus provide a plurality of spaced-apart ribs which are effective during rotation of the hopper to advance axially thereof articles contained therein. Each straight section as 32, 33, and 34 is provided with apertures 35 arranged in sets of which the individual apertures are axially aligned for receiving rods as presently explained. Section 32 of member 3| is adapted to receive upon its outer face the side wall member 36 shown in Fig. 4. The pointed end of side wall member 36 projects beyond the free end of straight section 32 while the shoulder 31 thereof aligns with the arcuate notch 38 at the apex of adjoining straight sections 32 and 33 (see Figs. 1 and 11). Apertures 39, 46, and 4|, respectively, register with sets A, B, and C of aligned apertures 35, Fig. 11. The right side of section 36, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 11, is formed at an angle with respect to the left side so as to lie flatly against straight section 32 of the spiricue lar member 3| while the left side of said sec tion lies in a plane, normal to the axis. of the member 3| and the hopper 36. Rods 42, 43, and 44 having threaded end sections are inserted 35 in sets A, B, and C of the spiricular hopper member 3| and through the apertures 39, 46 and 4| of side wall member 36 to retain the member 36 in place upon the spiricular member 3 One end of side wall member 36 has a single tongue 45.

Hopper side wall member 46 is secured to the exposed broad face of the straight section 33, Fig. 11, of the spiricular member 3| by means of rods 41, 43, and 46, Fig. 2, which extend through holes 56, 5|, and 52 of said side wall member and through the aligned holes 35 which are further designated D. E, and F in the spiricular member. The straight cut end of hopper side wall member 46 is thus arranged in spaced relation with the end of member 36 bearing the tongue 45, while the shoulder 53 of member 46 is in alignment with the curved notch 54 in member 3|. Tongues 55 and a notch 56 therebetween are formed upon an end of hopper side wall member 46. Said side wall member has a long edge 56a which is disposed within the same plane transversely of the hopper as is the left edge of side wall member 36. A third hopper side wall member 51 is attached to straight section 34 of the spiricular member 3| by means of rods 58, 59, and 66, Fig. 2, which extend lengthwise of the hopper through the aligned holes 35 consisting of sets G, H, and K, and through the holes 6|, 62, and 63 in said side Wall member. The straight cut end of side wall member 51 will then be placed in opposed spaced relation with the tongue and notched end of side wall member 46 while the shoulder 64 on the opposite end thereof aligns with the curved notch 65 in the spiricular member 3|. Tongues 64a and grooves 64b are formed adjacent to the shoulder 64. The left edge 66 of hopper side wall member 51 falls in the same transverse hopper plane as the corresponding edges of side wall members 36 and 46. Hence, such edge of the three members 36, 46, and 51 are each engaged by the inner face (near its edge) of a triangular hopper end plate 61. End plate 61 constitutes the front end of the hopper 36 and has a large central opening 68 through which untreated articles are fed into the hopper. Three bosses 69 are provided on each side of the end plate 61, said bosses being apertured for receiving the rods as 42, 43, and 44. Nuts 16 are threaded onto the ends of the rods as 42, 43, and 44 to hold the parts in assembly.

The two long edges 1| and 12 of hopper side wall member 13 are parallel with one another but oblique with respect to the two shorter edges. One of said short edges is straight as indicated at 14 and the other embodies tongues 45 and notches 15. The long parallel sides 1| and 12 of the side wall member 13 are fitted between and respectively against straight sections 32 and 16 of spiricular member 3|; see Figs. 1 and 11. The short straight edge 14 of the member 13 is in substantially opposed relation with the notched end of the member 51 but spaced therefrom. Said side wall member 13 contains holes 11, 18, and 19 which receive the rods 42, 43, and 44 and is thus held in fabricated relation upon the hopper. Following hopper side wall member 13 is a series of similar members with parallel long edges, the members in such series being placed with their straight ends in substantially opposed spaced relation with the tongue and notched ends of the preceding members. This progression of side wall members continues until the back end of the hopper is approached when the three members with long edges disposed at such back end will be formed with those edges at such an angle that they will lie in a single plane transversely of the hopper axis. Said three members are shown in Figs. 8, 9, and 10 and are designated 86, 8|, and 82. Edges 83, 84, and of the members 86, 8l, and 82 are placed against their respective straight sections of the spiricular member 3|, while the opposite sides 86, 81 and 88 thereof align in a plane at right angles to the hopper axis. The side Wall members 86, 8|, and 82 are provided with holes for receiving the rods as 42, 43 and 44 in like manner as the previously described side wall members.

An end plate 89, Figs. 1 and 3, similar to end plate 61 is placed upon the back end of the hopper against the aligned edges 86, 81, and 88 of the side wall members 86, 8|, and 82. End plate 89 has apertured bosses 96 which receive the rods as 42, 43, and. Nuts 9| are threaded onto the back ends of the rods as 42, 43, and 44.

The rotatable hopper 36 is supported at its front end by a pair of rollers 92 and 93 which are journalled upon stub shafts 94 and 95 anchored in a frame cross piece 96. Said rollers engage a circular track 91 upon a forwardly projecting section surrounding the opening 68 in the front end plate 61. Rotative movement is imparted to the hopper by a coaxial shaft 91 attached by means of a spider (not shown) to the back end plate 89. Shaft 91 is journalled in a bearing block 98 which is secured by means of bolts 99 to a pair of vertical frame supports Hi6 and IM. A worm gear |62 is non-rotatively secured to shaft 91 and is driven by a worm pinion I63 upon a drive shaft I64. Power is received by th mach ne from anu y' J05 is no r tat ve c nn ted it t e sha 1 I A feedchute I06, Fig. 1, is provided for directinc untreated articles into the front end of the hopper. The chute I05 is supported in an inclined position by brackets I01 and I08 of graduated height.

It will be conceived from the description thus far of the rotatable hopper 30 that a longitudinal opening obtains along each of the three apices because of the spacing-provided between the ends of the side wall members as 51 upon one side 0f the hopper and side wall members as 46 and 13 upon the other sides thereof. Thetongues 45 and notches I5 of the side wall members shown in Fig. 1 form one side of a longitudinal hopper opening. Likewise, the aligned tongue and notched ends of the side wall members disposed on the other two sides of the hopper constitute one side of an axial opening. The opposite sides of these three openings extending lengthwise of the hopper are formed by tongue and notched edges upon bars I09 which are fastened -to end plates 61 and 89 ofthe hopper. The tongues of bars I09 align with the tongues of the side wall members opposed thereto so that the opposed notches therebetween provide a series of hopper outlets. Such dimensions are selected for the notches that. the outlets efiected thereby will permit the endwise passage therethrough-of bean pods or other elongated articles which have been placed in the hopper. Means for engaging the articles and :slitting them lengthwise as they emerge'fromthe hopper through the outlets will now be described.

The hopper 30 carries three units of slitting mechanism, one unit being associated with each axial row of outlets formed by the notches as I5 in'the hopper-side -wall members as B and the notches in the 'bar- Illil ad-jacent thereto. Each slitting mechanism comprises- ;a plurality of slitting i-nstrurnentalities corresponding in number with the number of outlets -atits respective apex ofthe hopper. Theinstrumentalities ineach unit of mechanism are nonerotatively secured to rotatable shafts I I 0 and- I I l which are journa-lled in bearings l 2 and 31zi 'hQDD6 n mat 1 a d in bearings I .I 4 and I I5' ;in-hoppe rend plate 89.

Eachshaft-III] ;hasa.-vgroove pulley l I6 and a spur gear I-I'I secured-to its gback-most end sec.- tion. The gears-IITaremeshedwith gears Hi8 onthe adjacent shafts-1| I I. The shafts I Hi each carry a sleeve ;;I I3, Fig. l'3,;;having ;a flange I29 at one endsand ;a threaded section at the opposite end. Sleeves I I 9 are fixed to their respective shafts .I I0. Joy-set screws .i 2 I. =Di skknives -I 22 having central openingscf substantiallythe same diameter as. the sleeves -I I 9 are slid in position over the threadedcends of such sleeves together WithSDaCer rings I23 -and-I 24. The *klfliVGS liZZ are arranged in pairs inregistry with the hopper outlets associated therewith, the spacer rings I23 apices of thehopper end plates 6'! and'w by means of bolts I28, and an inwardly turned portion having tongues I ZG'and I38 which project between the slitting knives I 22. During operation of the machine the tongues I29 and I30 strip the slit particles of bean pods or the like from between the knives and deflect such particles downwardly into a receiver therefor.

That part of the slitting mechanism carried on each shaft III comprises a roller I3! having a series of circumferential grooves I32 which are positioned to receive the knives I22 in the manner illustrated in Figs. 2 and 13.: Grooves I32 contain beads I33 in their bottoms, such beads being sufficiently high to extend inwardly between the paired knives associated therewith so as to perfect a clean cut of the pods when during operation of the machine they are directed into the grooves under and between the knives I22 as illustrated in Figs. l2and 14. A set screw I34, Fig. 13,-ho1ds each roller I3I in fixed relation with its shaftIII. g

Attention is next invited to Fig. 3 and more particularly to -a belt I 35 which is attached at one end to the machine frame by a bolt I36. A bracket I31 upon the machine frame serves as an anc horage for the oppositeend of said belt.

, Tautness is maintainedinthe belt by a contrac will cause the various instrumentalities of knives I'22xand roiler grooves -I32 to have a bite for drawing therebetween bean pods or other 1ongitudinal severable articles which have been fed endwise thereto through the hopper outlets. Subsequent to passing from engagement with the belt I35, however,-the pulleys'i It frictionally engage a short arcuate piece I39 of belting so disposed with respectto the passing pulleys, upon abracket MD, as to 'eifect, rotation of said pulleys in the opposite direction. Thus, while the knives I22 and rollers I3I are in their uppermost position, they rotate in the reverse direction to dislodge and eject therefrom'backwardly into the hopper any articles that are too imperfect or too large or which for any reason are unqualified to pass through the slitting apparatus.

When the machine is started for "operation, driving power will be'applied to the drive shaft M4 in the proper direction for causing worm gear-02, Fig. "3, and the hopper 35 to rotate in the direction indicated by .the arrow. Articles such as green bean pods which are to be divided into longitudinal strips are introduced into the front end of the hopper by means of the chute I66. The straight sections as 33 of the spiricular member '3! projectinwardly from the inner peripheryof the hopper sufficiently far to be effective-for advancing. the articles toward the back end of the hopper. during its: rotation. Said inwai'dly projecting sections of the spiricular member 3! have the effect of arranging the bean pools or other similarly shaped articles within the hopper transverselythereof andhence directed endwise toward thehopper outlets cooperatively fo-rmed by the notches in theedges pi bars #953 and the ends of hopper side wall members as '43. While the pulley I I6 of a slitting mechanism unit is traversing the belt I35 the articles in the hopper will be gravitationally urged toward the hopper outlets associated with such unit of slitting mechanism. The ribs effected by the straight sections as 16 of the member 3i will function at this time to guide the downwardly moving articles end foremost into said outlets and upon the articles projecting through the outlets they will be engaged between the adjacent pairs of disk knives and their cooperative grooves in the roller Lil, and thus passed through the slitting mechanism incident to being divided into three strips. Thebeads I33 in the bottoms of the grooves I32 in roller l3l force the center section, which becomesone of the three strips, upwardly between the paired knives making the cut. Complete cuts through the articles are thus assured. i

The slitting mechanism is so constructed and so coacts with the hopper as to straighten the articles while slitting them and in this way accurately place the cuts taken therethrough. The hopper outlets are small enough to steady the trailing portion of the articles while the leading portions are being passed under the knives i122 and within the roller grooves I32. This action is illustrated in Fig. 12. Fig. 14 clearly shows how the inclined sides of the roller grooves I32 have a tendency to center the articles therein and with respect to the paired knives.

Articles that fail to project through hopperoutlets near the front end of the hopper are advanced rearwardly while being turbulated by rotation of the hopper and moved toward different outlets three times during each hopper revolution. If all of the articles are of a character adapting them to pass through the slitting mechanism, they will eventually all find outlets by the time of approaching the back end of the hopper. Should the charge of articles include some which are not adapted to be operated upon by the machine, or foreign articles similarly unadapted, these articles will eventually be discharged through the opening in back end plate as. Should any of such irregular articles become lodged in the slitting mechanism, the retrograde movement of the latter while the pulley l l6 thereof traverses the belting member l39, Fig. 3, will dislodge those articles and permit them to drop downwardly into the hopper.

The strip portions of the articles, and which are prepared- While the units of slitting mechanism are in the lower part of their path of movement, are cleared from the knives M2 by the tongues I29 and I30 of plates I26 and deflected downwardly thereby between guide members M! and M2 into a suitable receptacle or conveyor. A hood M3 is provided as a cover for the moving parts of the machine.

The flat interior surfaces of the hopper side walls form a series of troughs of which the bottoms correspond to the apices of the polygonal hopper. Each time the bottom of a trough is disposed downwardly, the articles will slide down the side walls thereof, end foremost, toward such bottom and the outlets therein. The capacity of the machine is increased. by having a row of article 0 :tlets at the bottom of each trough and a like number of slitting mechanisms.

We claim:

1. A slitting machine for longitudinal articles, comprising a rotatable hopper, means for rotating said hopper, said hopper being adapted to contain a plurality of such articles and having an outlet toward which the articles are periodically moved during such rotation, said outlet being of such dimensions as to receive and permit projection of the end of an article thereinto only when such article is moved endwise theretoward, article extracting means movable with said hopper, said article extracting means being engageable with said articles when they are moved into said outlet and being operable to extract the thus engaged articles endwise outwardly of the hopper through such outlet, said extracting means including a knife disposed in position for severing the articles during the extraction thereof, and means for operating said extracting means.

2. A slitting machine for longitudinal articles, comprising a rotatable hopper, means for rotating said hopper, said hopper being adapted to contain a plurality of such articles and having an outlet toward which said articles are gravitationally and periodically moved, said outlet being of such dimensions as to enable it to receive only the end section of an article and then only when such article is moved endwise theretoward, article extracting means movable with said hopper, said articles extracting means being engageable with said articles when they are projected into said outlet and being operable to extract the thus engaged articles outwardly of the hopper through such outlet, means for operating said extracting means, and a knife disposed exteriorly of and in registry with said outlet, said knife being arranged in close proximity to said outlet with its cutting edge facing said outlet and. in such position as to sever said articles at a section in parallelism with their movement during extraction from said hopper.

3. In an article slitting machine, a movable hopper adapted to contain a plurality of articles to be slit and having an outlet, means for moving said hopper for agitating the articles therein to cause portions thereof to project through said outlet, cooperative knife and roller means adjacent to said outlet exteriorly of the hopper and carried thereon for movement therewith, said knife and roller means being operable to engage the projecting portions of said articles and pass the thus engaged articles between the knife and roller portions thereof incident to extracting such articles through the hopper outlet while the knife portion of said means serves to sever said articles at a section parellel with their path of movement from the hopper, and means for operating said knife and roller means.

4. In a machine for treating longitudinal articles, a rotatable hopper polygonal in cross-section transversely of its rotational axis and having a plurality of outlets each of limited area to permit only the endwise passage of such articles, and said outlets being arranged in rows coincident with the apices of said hopper, the side walls of said hopper being disposed at substantially acute angles at said apices, and rib members arranged substantially perpendicularly to said apices upon the inner side of each of said walls.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 and wherein said ribs are also arranged spiricularly of the hopepr to enable them incident to rotation of the hopper to advance the articles axially thereof.

6. In a machine for slitting longitudinal severable articles, a rotatable hopper having a plurality of outlets spaced circumferentially of the hopper and adapted to permit endwise passage of said articles therethrough outwardly of said 'tion of said rollers and knives in different directions, pulley drive means successively engageable hopper, slitting mechanisms upon said hopper in association with each of said outlets,'each of said slitting mechanisms including a roller and a disk knife complementally rotatably to engage and pass articles therebetween as they emerge from the associated outlet, and the knives being posi-.

tioned sufiiciently close to their respective rollers as to effect a longitudinal cut through the articles associated outlet and rotatable in the opposite direction to. eject said articles therefrom backwardly through such outlet into the hopper,

means for rotating said rollers and knives in the one direction during movement below the hopper axis and for rotating said rollers and knives in the opposite direction during movement above the hopper axis.

8. Apparatus as set out in claim 7 and wherein the rotating means for each of said slitting mechanisms comprises a pulley rotatable in opposite directions to cause the respective rotawith' said pulleys for driving them in one direction while their associated roller and knife are below the axis of the hopper and succesivelyengageable with said pulleys for, driving them in the opposite direction while their associated roller and knife are above the axis of the hopper;

' 9. In a machine for slitting longitudinal severable articles, a hopper rotatable about a substantially horizontal axis and including paired side wall sections converging to from V-shaped troughs with apices extending axially of the hopper, said hopper having a plurality of outlets each of which is adapted to permit the endwise passage therethrough of, such articles, said outlets being arranged in rows coinciding with the apices of said troughs, slitting mechanism in association with each row of said outlets, each slitting mechanism including a shaft extending axially of said hopper, a plurality of paired spaced-apart disk knives mounted on said shaft and a roller provided with circumferential grooves spaced similarly and respectively receptive of said pairs of knives, said paired knives and grooves being in respective registry with the outlets in the associated row of outlets, said roller and knives being complementally rotatable to receive and pass articles therebetween when they emerge from the outlets, the grooves receiving the articles emerging from the outlet with which they are in registry and the knife pairs in said grooves affecting longitudinal cuts entirely through the articles throughout their length, means for rotating said hopper, and spaced-apart ribs interiorly of the hopper, said ribs being arranged spiricularly in such a manner as to advance articles axially of the hopper during the rotation.

10. In a mechanical movement for intermittently driving an operation performing mechanj ism, a rotatable holder for said mechanism, a pulley on said holder at a distance from the holder axis and rotatablev about its own axis to drive said mechanism, a belt for rotating said pulley, and disposed more distantly from the holder axis than said pulley, a second belt for rotating said pulley in the opposite direction and disposed less distantly from the holder axis than said pulley,

and means forcrotating said holder to carry said pulley successively and operatively along respece tive sections of said belts.

WILLIAM E. URSCHELi JOE R. URSCHEL. 

